Hide and Seek
by Come Lady Death
Summary: Tiny plays hide and seek with his siblings, but things don't quite go the way he planned. Written in honor of Tiny's victory in the Warriors Life Tournament.


**A/N: As usual, I own nothing. Last year we hosted a Warriors Life Tourney. Many played, many more attended, but only one could be crowned victor. Tiny prevailed over all comers and his reward was a fanfic by yours truly. Here, at last, is the fic. A small trifle, but I gave what I could. Qapla', Tiny.**

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Socks settled into his spot; Ruby would never find him under the couch! He grinned at the thought of her searching all the usual places without success. It was the perfect hiding place.

Or, at least, it was until his brother showed up.

"Hey, Socks, can I play?"

Tiny's head poked up under the couch. The little black kit smiled innocently at the hiding kit. "Shh, get out of here, Tiny!" Socks growled. But it was too late. Ruby's gray head appeared alongside Tiny's and she gave Socks a smug look. "Found you!"

Socks crawled out from under the couch and turned on Tiny. "You wouldn't have found me if he hadn't given me away!" he snapped and swiped a paw at the smaller kit. Tiny ducked, but Quince saw the blow and frowned.

"Socks! Come here now!"

Socks, grumbling, slunk over to where his mother reclined on the armchair. The gray she-cat scolded, "What have I told you about playing nicely with your brother?"

Ruby came to her brother's aid: "But Mama, he's such a baby! And he can't even play right! He ruined our game!"

"I can so play right!" Tiny exclaimed, running up in time to defend himself. Quince smiled at her bickering little ones.

"Why don't the three of you play together? Then everyone has fun." Socks and Ruby opened their mouths to argue, but a stern look from Quince halted their complaints. Muttering to themselves, they walked off. Ruby flicked her tail for Tiny to follow.

"Alright," Socks mewed decisively. "We'll play hide-and-seek. You do know how to play, don't you?" he added condescendingly to Tiny. The little cat stuck out his tongue at his brother. Socks continued, "Right then. Ruby, you're it."

"I was it last time!" she whined.

Socks relented. "Fine, I'm it. I'm counting to thirty." He smiled playfully at Ruby, ignoring Tiny, who obviously didn't stand a chance. "You better run and hide!"

The kits scattered as Socks curled up with his nose under his paws and started to count down. Ruby scampered for the kitchen, but Tiny had a better idea. Earlier he'd seen a pile of clothes and shoes sitting beside the dresser of one of the Twoleg kits. One of those shoes would make a great hiding place!

Tiny scampered into the Twoleg kit's room and dove into the boot he'd noticed earlier. It was a snug fit, even for him, but he made it work. The black cat smiled to himself; he couldn't wait to see the look on Socks and Ruby's faces when he won!

Distantly he heard Socks holler, "Ready or not, here I come!" Tiny settled in to wait. A few moments passed and the cozy warmth of the boot around him started to work on his already tired mind. Within a minute, Tiny was fast asleep.

* * *

"Tania! Get the clothes and come on, they're expecting us at the Salvation Army in fifteen minutes!"

"I have to bag them, Mum, I'll be there in a sec! One stack, two stacks, sandals, I think that's- oh! Don't want to forget the half boots. Okay, okay, I'm coming, no need to honk at me!"

* * *

Socks sat beside Ruby on the couch, watching the two female housefolk go out the door with a large black bag of clothes and shoes. Ruby asked, "You couldn't find him anywhere?"

"Nowhere!" Socks insisted. "I've looked everywhere I can think of!"

"He'll come out when he gets tired of hiding."

"Or we could just tell him he won."

"Yuck!" the two squealed in mutual disgust.

"Nah, leave him alone," Socks commented nonchalantly, hopping off the couch. "The little baby will get bored after a while and stop playing."

* * *

Tiny awoke when the floor under him jerked. He started to sit up and found that he couldn't move. He panicked for a second before remembering where he was. Hide-and-seek with Socks and Ruby! He'd fallen asleep. How long had it been? He giggled; the game was probably long over and those two were still stumped! But, he thought, it was getting cramped in here. Might as well get out and gloat.

Tiny struggled his way up to the top of the shoe. Once there, he was stopped short by a barrier of what felt like cloth. It was pitch black in the boot with the top covered, but the cloth smelled like the little female Twoleg. Of course, everything smelled like Twoleg in here.

He slid back down the mouth of the boot and concentrated. Where was he? The floor was vibrating, purring almost. With a jolt of fear Tiny realized that it was the same feeling as when he, Mama, and the others had to go to the Cutter! They were in a Twoleg car! Where were they taking him?

Tiny decided he didn't want to know. He took a deep breath and screamed for all he was worth.

"MAAAAMAAAA!!!"

* * *

"Whoa! What'd you slam the brakes for?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear wha- Yeah..."

"It sounds like..."

"A CAT!"

* * *

Quince called her kits to her. Only Socks and Ruby appeared and she frowned down at them. "Where's Tiny?" she asked. Socks and Ruby traded looks guiltily. That meant that there was a pretty good chance they knew where he was. "Where?" she asked again.

"We don't know," Ruby confessed. Quince narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

"Don't tell lies, Ruby. Where is your brother?"

"Mama, we really don't know!" Socks cried.

Words tumbled out of Ruby. "See, we were playing hide-and-seek, and me and Tiny ran and hid, but Socks found me and we looked and looked and we can't find Tiny anywhere and he won't come out!" She gasped for air and Socks scowled at her.

"Nice going."

Quince shook her head absently. "No, she did the right thing. Thank you for telling me, Ruby." She got up and began combing the Twoleg nest, calling out for her lost smallest kit.

* * *

Tiny screamed until the breath was knocked out of him in a rush. Shaking his head, he realized that the car had screeched to a stop. He waited, listening to find out what would happen next. He heard the Twolegs talking about something. Why did they always have to be so loud?

Then his world shook violently. The tiny kit yowled in fear, but then light blossomed over him and a Twoleg hand drew him gently out of the boot. Shaken, Tiny mewled pitifully for his mother while the Twoleg kit petted and soothed him. He couldn't wait to get back home and he swore that he would never play hide-and-seek again!

* * *

"How did Tiny get into the clothes bag?"

"I have no idea, but we'd better take him back home."

"I'm so glad we found out he was in there before we gave the stuff away!"

* * *

Quince was frantic with worry. She, Ruby, and Socks had all been over the house three times already and they couldn't find a trace of Tiny. Socks and Ruby had fallen silent, frightened by their mother's fear.

Suddenly the door opened and the housefolk walked in. Quince perked up as a scent reached her. Tiny? That black ball in the young one's hand did look familiar...

"Tiny!" she cried in joy as her lost little one was lowered to the ground. "Mama!" he responded, staggering on numb kitten legs across to her and burying his head in her side. "Tiny, I was so worried, so scared, I love you so much!" she whispered into his fur.

"I was scared too!" Tiny told her quickly. "The housefolk were taking me away inside a shoe and I didn't know what to do, so I screamed and shouted for you. Then they brought me home, so I guess screaming works!" Tiny pressed into Quince's side for comfort. "I never want to go away like that ever again!"

Then he looked up at his guilty-looking siblings and a brilliant smile blossomed on his face.

"But I won the game!"

**A/N: You just lost the Game!**


End file.
